Declining prevalence of dental caries in school children in Singapore.
OBJECTIVE
Dental health surveys of school children in Singapore from past decades were reviewed to document reductions in prevalence of dental caries.


METHODS
Surveys were carried out in schools by the Dental Division, Ministry of Health in 1970, 1979, 1984, 1989 and 1994. A sample size of approximately 5000 school children representing 1.2% of the school population aged 6 to 18 years old was examined in each survey.


RESULTS
Survey data showed an increase in the proportion of children free of caries in the permanent dentition from 30% in 1970 to 58.7% in 1994. The DMFT index for 6 to 18 year old children has dropped from 2.98 in 1970, 2.61 in 1979, 1.97 in 1984, 1.61 in 1989 to 1.05 in 1994.


CONCLUSIONS
Fluoridation of public water supplies together with the adoption of preventive dental health programmes by the State and professional bodies is credited as the major factor in caries reduction.
Lo
G L
GL
Department of Preventive Dentistry, University of Singapore, Singapore.
Bagramian
R A
RA
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D019229:Dentition, Permanent; D005457:Fluoridation; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous